There is a life expectancy gap between urban and non-urban Australians of all races, because of the reduced availability of emergency medical services, greater distance to hospitals etc in remote areas. Because of the higher representation of indigenous people in rural and remote areas then the gap surely appears wider than it really is. Would not a more useful comparison be the life expectancy gap between urban indigenous and non-indigenous people and between rural indigenous and non-indigenous people. This is the gap we need to close. I suspect it is less than 17 years but have not been able to find any figures. Perhaps James Ensor can enlighten me.

Malrob I think your reasoning is bit off.
As I understand the methodology the actual raw numbers of individuals in each group is/was irrelevant only that the two MEANS incorporated the same "regional" criteria (lemons with lemons). The only variation to this would be that the numbers of both groups are of (statisticly significant sampling) size. I believe that they are. There are statistic methods to normalize any difference. All stantistics have an + - error factor. That factor here would be around 3-4%.

Two hundred years of genocide on the aboriginal peoples has only taken on different forms, different devious methods. The right wing methods do adjust. Now the attacks go on under the guise or political cover of "defending the sacred children".
Fancy thinking Rudd known as 'doctor death" in Queensland by workers from all his attacks on the public hospital system as assisting aboriginal peoples health. Or for that matter the whole public health system which has worsened under Rudds so called leadership. Not that there is a whit of difference from Howard with his metooism politics. They do serve the same predators in the financial elite. Written 100 years ago and standing the test of time the so-called Labor leaders were correctly defined as the Labor lieutenants of capitalism.

Grand generalisations that perceive huge additional funds can 'close the gap' come accross as naive. Merely allocating an 'additional $460 to annual Indigenous primary health care' is futile. Where is the evidence from which this sum to 'close the gap'is derived? How will this 'additional' sum be distributed and for exactly what? The challenge is to open the pandora's box of hidden and unspoken mispent funds and to investigate situations in which in it in the interest of those responsible for Aboriginal health services to maintain the status quo while hiding behind the mask of 'community control'.

Jenni
Go to the NACCHO, OXFAM, ANTaR or AMA websites and you will find links to large detailed reports that have both evidence and sensible plans that support the proposal for this large amount of money.

Although I agree with you that money alone won't solve all the problems, I believe that this allocation of funding would greatly assist achieving the goal of more equitable health outcomes for Indigenous kids in the long term.

Does anybody here know what the life expectancy of aboriginals was BEFORE white settlement? I cannot find the answer anywhere. I want to find out if there has been an improvement since settlement or has there been a decrease.
Thanks.